Creating Anime In A Fantasy World (Patreon)
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Chapter 5: This Is Indeed a Brain-Dead Situation
After agreeing to Edward's request, Zat remained at the castle. during this period, Edward had Winry take Zat's measurements in preparation for the costumes he would wear during filming.
During this time, Edward also made some localized modifications to the beginning of "KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World."
Originally, the protagonist, Kazuma, was a modern-day Japanese teenager who had been transported to another world, but Edward realized that this concept would be difficult for the people of this world to accept. Therefore, he decided to modify the protagonist and design him as an ordinary merchant's son who had never considered his future due to the family's wealth and had been living aimlessly.
This protagonist, after encountering what he saw as an 'accident' on his way to buy things, ended up suffering a heart attack due to a lack of physical activity for a long time while attempting to save a little girl from being hit by a cart.
Filming this scene was straightforward; Zat's acting skills were more than sufficient to portray a long-time, sedentary recluse. However, the challenge lay in casting the role of the female protagonist, the so-called "brain-dead goddess" from the original story.
Yes, even if they temporarily ignored the subsequent issues, the most significant problem at this moment was the casting of the actress. They needed someone with exceptional acting skills who also had a decent appearance. The question was: where could they find such a person?
While Edward was pondering this, Zat, who had already heard about Edward's plans from Winry, approached and spoke. "Lord Edward, I heard that you are looking for someone with acting skills."
Realizing that Zat had already heard about his idea, Edward smiled and nodded. "Yes, indeed. Over the years, I haven't met many people, and the requirement for acting skills makes it a bit challenging."
Hearing this, Zat, who had a conflicted expression, hesitated for a moment but eventually said with determination, "If that's the case, I may be able to recommend a suitable candidate."
"Oh? Do you know someone like that?"
Edward was quite surprised by Zat's words. Zat seemed to recall something important and had a troubled expression. After sighing, he continued, "Actually, I initially didn't want to recommend her, but I heard that this is very important to you, my lord, so..."
Although he had wanted to tell Zat not to be too formal many times, Edward understood that his words alone couldn't change the strict social structure of this world. So he listened to what Zat had to say.
According to Zat, there was a peculiar girl who had suddenly appeared in the village he managed. She had been caught by the village's wealthy landowner, Mr. Ford, stealing chickens. Mr. Ford had bound her to the knight's premises. during this process, the girl was very scared, even begging for mercy, and was ultimately set free without any charges by Zat. However, after being released, she immediately ran away with a joyful expression, leaving Zat confused.
The next day, Zat saw the same girl tied up at the entrance to the knight's premises, trembling in fear. Witnesses said that she had been beaten by the parents of a child she had stolen candy from, who then handed her over to the knights. Despite Zat's years of diligent service and efforts to help the people of the village, he felt helpless when dealing with such an audacious character.
Finally, when he realized that she seemed to have lost her memory and had nowhere to go, Zat, as a knight, decided to take her in and provide her shelter at the knight's premises.
However, despite Zat's decision to shelter her, the girl's lack of common sense led to her causing trouble in the village almost every few days. Not only were the villagers frustrated with her, but Zat himself also found her to be a constant nuisance. He was determined to wait for her to regain her memory and then send her back to her original place.
Now, upon hearing that the Lord was looking for a girl with good acting skills and a pleasant appearance, Zat immediately thought of her. While this girl was lacking in common sense in many ways, her acting skills, combined with her good looks, made her a suitable choice.
After Zat's explanation, Edward became interested in the girl. He asked, "What's her name?"
"She can't remember her name due to amnesia, so I gave her the name Aya. Originally, I wanted to name her 'Brain-Dead,' but that was rejected..."
"Well, it's only natural to reject a name like that," Edward commented.
Having heard Zat's account, Edward nodded and said, "Very well, Zat, please bring this Aya to me."
...
While Zat was away from the castle, Edward continued to make revisions to the script and retrieved the magical camera he had obtained earlier.
Filming a movie or a TV series involved many elements besides the script and actors. Factors such as camera angles, special effects, music, editing, lighting, and more needed to be considered. In a world with magic like this one, special effects weren't a concern, but they had their own challenges to face.
However, the most significant challenge seemed to be capturing the right camera angles. Anime and live-action had substantial differences, and translating elaborate anime scenes to live-action required a delicate touch. While magical technology existed in this world, Edward felt that his skills fell short, as he was merely an ordinary otaku with some experience in editing but without formal training in this world.
As he grappled with how to achieve the desired cinematic effects, a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts. Edward stepped out of his contemplation and adjusted his appearance slightly while waiting for Zat and the girl he had recommended to arrive.
When the large doors slowly opened, he immediately saw Zat leading the girl into the room.
With long, light blue hair cascading down her back, the girl wore ordinary clothing that concealed her feminine features. However, her beauty was undeniable, as Zat had described. This was Edward's initial thought. Then, in the next instant...
"Lord Edward! I swear, I'm innocent! Whether it's stealing Mr. Ford's chickens, snatching Amy's lollipops, trampling on Auntie Tifa's crops, smashing Timmy's piggy bank, eating all the chicken legs people gave Zat, or planning to sell Zat's knight's sword because his snoring is too loud due to the poor soundproofing of the room- none of it is my fault!!!"
"What chicken legs? Selling what sword?!!!"
Edward, seeing the girl sobbing and clinging to his pants legs, was baffled, while Zat appeared to be on the verge of strangling the girl, questioning her intensely.
In the midst of this chaos, Edward's second thought emerged...
This girl is indeed a retard.